Exactly one year ago, families were rushing in to get their flu shots after the H1N1 scare. Makeshift clinics were being set up and there were huge lines at doctors' offices, as the demand for the H1N1 vaccine was outstripping supply.
This year the demand is very much lower, but the flu is still a very real danger. One third of the influenza cases in the US this flu season is attributable to the H1N1 strain, one third is another influenza A called H3N2 and one third is TYpe B.
Because fewer people are getting their shots, there is a distinct possibility that there could be an increase in infection later in the flu season. On average 24,000 people of influenza every year in the US and over 250,000 are hospitalized.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that every person from the age of 6 months get vaccinated. The CDC confirms that flu activity usually peaks in January or later.
